


Card Tricks

by Aqualisier



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-30
Updated: 2013-05-30
Packaged: 2017-12-13 11:57:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/824045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aqualisier/pseuds/Aqualisier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John shows Vriska some magic tricks. Fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Card Tricks

Vriska watched meticulously as John shuffled and cut the deck, lips pursed and hand to her chin, observing every detail as his hands parted and reorganized the cards. No tricks this time, she thought. She’d crack his secret.

John laid out nine cards on the ground between them, placing the deck to the side. “Alright,” he said, “pick a card, don’t tell me what it is, then put it back.”

Vriska eyed the cards dubiously, then shifted her gaze to John. He had to know something she didn’t. Gingerly, she lifted the card in the center - the Queen of Spades. After studying it for a brief moment, she placed it back with a smirk. No way he had her this time!

John picked up the deck he had set aside and gathered up the cards. Vriska watched again as he cut and shuffled the deck. No discernible tricks, he wasn’t peeking or anything, and yet, when he finished and drew the top card …

“Is this your card?” John held out the Queen of Spades.

Vriska stared incredulously. “Goddamnit!” she cried, snatching the card from his grasp. “How the hell do you keep doing that!?” she said, scrutinizing the item with comically exaggerated intensity.

“Haha, I told you! It’s magic!” John said with a laugh. Vriska glared at him. “But seriously,” he went on, “it was just a sleight of hand. That last one was better.”

Vriska narrowed her eyes. An awkward silence filled the room, her pride ever so slightly damaged by being fooled by a mere trick and John not wanting to risk somehow making it worse. He broke eye contact, shifting his gaze downward at the deck of cards and absentmindedly shuffling them. “Let’s … do something else,” he said at last, getting to his feet and making his way over to the Magic Chest at the other side of his room.

“Wait,” Vriska said. John turned, stopping about halfway over. “Show me how you did that.”

John blinked. “You’re not mad?”

“No, not really,” she said, sitting up straight and crossing her legs. “Not at you, I mean. I just want to know how you did that.”

John smiled, walking back towards her and sitting across from her on the ground. “I told you, it’s just a sleight of hand. Watch.” He cut the deck and dealt nine cards once more. “Pick a card.”

Vriska obliged, picking up the center card once again, more confidently and quickly than she had - she had the feeling it hardly mattered which card she picked. Ace of Diamonds. She committed the information to memory and laid the card back in its original position. “Alright,” she said, “now what?”

“Okay, so you picked up the center card,” John said, “so I’ll put that one on top. Watch.” He picked up the cards and, as he had stated, placed the center card on top of the small stack he had gathered. “Then, when you put them back with the rest of the deck, you palm the card like this,” he held out his hand, showing Vriska the Ace of Diamonds firmly lodged in the creases of his hand, “and pretend to shuffle it normally.” He did so, drawing the card that had seemingly magically come to the top of the deck. “Is this your card?”

Vriska took the Ace of Diamonds from him - more delicately, this time. She stared at John for several moments before a smile curled around her lips and she burst into a fit of laughter. “I can’t believe it was that easy!” she managed, handing the card back to him.

John chuckled in response. “You’re awfully happy today, Vriska,” he said. “I’d think you’d be a bit more upset about being tricked like that.”

“Well,” she said, tone slightly more serious, “it’s kind of hard to have any pride left when you’re dead. Besides,” she added more lightly, “we’re just having fun, right? You don’t actually think I’m an idiot.”

“Of course not!” John said. “You’re not supposed to be able to figure out a magic trick. If you couldn’t figure it out, it just means I’m doing it right, not that you’re dumb!”

“Well, I didn’t catch that little sleight of hand the first time, so I guess you did. Good job.” Vriska smiled. “Hey, would you hand me the deck?” she asked. “I want to try.”

“Sure,” John said, taking a moment to shuffle the cards before handing them to her.

Vriska laid out eight cards between them, arranged in a diamond pattern. “Alright, pick a card,” she said.

John picked up the card closest to him without much thought - Ten of Hearts - and wordlessly replaced it. As he had instructed, Vriska gathered the cards she had laid out, made sure to place the one John had picked on top, and shuffled the cards. John couldn’t help but notice that when she shuffled the deck, the card she had palmed was visible within her grasp for the briefest of moments.

Nevertheless, Vriska was oblivious to her folly and finished shuffling. “Alright,” she said at last, drawing the card at the top of the deck, “is THIS your card?” She dramatically held out the Ten of Hearts.

“My goodness! How ever did you know?” John gasped. 

Vriska tried to suppress a laugh, but the noise she made instead was so ridiculous that the pair laughed even harder. “S-seriously though,” she managed through the giggles, “how did I do?”

For a moment, John said nothing, wondering if he should just tell her what she wanted to hear. “Well,” he said, placing his hands in his lap, “you did pretty well, but you might want to be more careful about when you shuffle the deck. I could see you holding my card.”

“Aw, really?” she pouted. “I thought for sure I had it. I didn’t see my card flash when you did the trick at all, and I watched pretty closely!”

“It’s alright, it’s hard to shuffle the deck like that!” John said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, why don’t I show you some other magic tricks? It’s not all card stuff, you know.”

Vriska frowned. “You don’t have to baby me like that, you know,” she said, gently removing his hand. “I fucked up, that’s fine, I’ll get it this time.”

“Oh, you want to practice that one some more?” John asked. “I have a really cool one with a ring and some silk I wanted to show you, but … “

“I wanna get this one right first,” Vriska said, shuffling the deck swiftly and dealing eight cards in a diamond pattern once more. “After that, I’d love to!”

“Alright, sounds like a plan!” John picked up the card closest to Vriska. Ace of Hearts.

“Well,” she added with a smile, gathering up the cards, “only if you promise to teach me, that is.”


End file.
